Senate committee approves health care plan

[Hansmeister]

Is there any real reform here or just a bunch of money being put into the pockets of insurers?

It's definitely real.  Elimination of screening is a huge deal, and so is introduction of mandates.  I also wouldn't assume that money would flow into the pockets of insurers, they could take it in the ass big time if this goes wrong.

that would be terrible. Not. If anyone deserves an ass-raping or three it's Insurance companies.

Yes, those fatcats are rolling in the dough with their whopping 3.3% profit margins. 

[The Minsky Moment]

UnitedHealth Group had a 6.5% margin last year, down from roughly 10% in the prior years. 
I didn't check the others, but they should be illustrative.

[DGuller]

For the most part, health insurers are acting the way they because that's how the system is set up.  You're not going to stay in business if you don't aggressively screen for pre-existing conditions, and things like that.  If you're going to have a system set up based on competition and profit-seeking, you're going to see aggressive cost-cutting and profit-seeking actions that are incompatible with the social goals.  That said, obviously there is never an excuse for reneging on a contract, whether in letter or in spirit, and insurers that do that as a matter of policy are scum.

[Hansmeister]

UnitedHealth Group had a 6.5% margin last year, down from roughly 10% in the prior years. 
I didn't check the others, but they should be illustrative.

What would be even more illustrative is a list of industry profitability by sector from last quarter.



Kinda weird that your first instinct would be to look up the profit margin of a single company.

[DGuller]

What would be even more illustrative is having an image that is readable.

[Hansmeister]

What would be even more illustrative is having an image that is readable.

Get some glasses.  Or google for a better image/chart.

[DGuller]

What would be even more illustrative is having an image that is readable.

Get some glasses.  Or google for a better image/chart.

I already have glasses.  Unfortunately, they don't magically increase the pixel count of the image.

[alfred russel]

But if you mandate coverage, you can have real reform. This bill seems to have that, only it also seems to have watered down the penalties to the point they aren't effective (or so says the insurance lobby).

Mandating tax payor subsidized coverage without doing anything to control cost is a recipe for huge dificits - even by American standards.

Mandating tax payers buy coverage that they can afford is reform that doesn't add to deficits.

Supplying subsidies to get health insurance to those that can't afford it may marginally add to government debt as more people get access to primary care, but won't blow up deficits because those people are already being treated for illnesses in emergency rooms with bills being footed largely by state and local governments.

[garbon]

I already have glasses.  Unfortunately, they don't magically increase the pixel count of the image.

Stop having old people eyes then. I can read his chart.

[alfred russel]

What is with the republican fetish for using profit margins to evaluate industries (here, or with oil and gas)? Metrics such as return on invested capital are far more relevent. 90% profit margins may not be very attractive if it takes a lot of capital to generate revenue, and 3% margins may be attractive if it doesn't.

[HisMajestyBOB]

So when do we get our death panels?
Or is that another Obama promise he won't deliver on?

[garbon]

So when do we get our death panels?
Or is that another Obama promise he won't deliver on?

Wanna join my death roundtable? Our first topic is Marty.

[garbon]

Historic legislation to expand U.S. health care and control costs won its first Republican supporter Tuesday and cleared a key Senate hurdle, a double-barreled triumph that propelled President Barack Obama's signature issue toward votes this fall in both houses of Congress.

Getting one Republican supporter is a triumph?

[Hansmeister]

Historic legislation to expand U.S. health care and control costs won its first Republican supporter Tuesday and cleared a key Senate hurdle, a double-barreled triumph that propelled President Barack Obama's signature issue toward votes this fall in both houses of Congress.

Getting one Republican supporter is a triumph?

And even she said that she didn't like the bill but wanted to keep the process moving in the (futile) hope of being able to fix it on the floor.

[derspiess]

because those people are already being treated for illnesses in emergency rooms with bills being footed largely by state and local governments.

That's one of my favorite liberal myths these days.